How to Look After Your Health and Fitness When Working From Home

According to one study, remote employees work 1.4 more days per month than their office-based counterparts, resulting in more than three additional weeks of work per year.

29% of remote employees said they struggle with work-life balance, and 31% said they have needed to take a day off for their mental health.

I have heard some people say that working from home is an amazing opportunity to relax and take it easy. You can wake up later, you don’t need to commute to work, and you can avoid to speaking to anyone you don’t want to.

I think we are fooling ourselves.

Going outdoors is actually rather crucial for vitamins and breathing fresh air. Speaking to other people is good for our mental health. And not commuting might well mean only getting 1,000 steps a day. This can all cause serious long term damage to your health!

So what can you do? Here are some tips that will make a big difference.

Spend Time Outdoors

One way or another, you NEED to spend time outdoors. A powerful tip is to go outdoors in the morning, as this will also help you to adjust your body clock to ensure better sleep.

At the same time, going for long walks can also be useful. Try wearing a fitness tracker which will count your steps and that way tell you if you need to get more exercise – the results can be shocking once you start working from home!

Protect Your Sleep

If you don’t get enough sleep, you won’t be able to exercise optimally. It really is that simple. So make sure that you protect this and try looking up the phrase “sleep hygiene” on Google for some more ideas.

Separate Work and Downtime

One of the biggest dangers when working from home, is that you don’t give yourself any real “time off.” You can end up always “half working” and never fully relaxing.

To make sure this doesn’t happen, make a strict rule that you will always finish work at the same time every day – and then stick to it. At the same time, turn off notifications from work related apps in the evening, or use a separate work phone.

Your ability to work is based on energy and motivation. These are finite resources, which means they need to be replenished!

Exercise!

We have already touched on the importance of walking, but any kind of exercise is important to avoid letting your stay-at-home lifestyle get the better of you.

Try engaging in yoga, some functional fitness movements, or even just go for a jog. This will not only help prevent health issues but will also improve your energy and focus thanks to the positive impact that exercise has on the brain.

Take a break

Another very effective way for remote employees to stay productive was to take regular breaks.

Why not try the Pomodoro Technique?

This is often accompanied/ achieved with the use of the red pepper kitchen timer.

Choose a task.

Work on it for 25 minutes.

Put a tick on a sheet of paper after the 25 minutes are up.

Take a five-minute break. (This marks the completion of one “Pomodoro” sprint.)